Tenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Today, half of all seafood is produced through marine aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms, predominately: seaweed, bivalves, shrimp, and finfish. Seafood certification of aquaculture products have grown rapidly (0.5% in 2005, more than 14% today). These certification schemes are indented to ensure sustainable and responsible production. Sea Warden enhances the quality of seafood certification by offering continuous, location-specific monitoring of marine aquaculture operations via satellite imaging and predictive modeling. Moreover, Sea Warden is intended to provide certification for smaller-scale operations in extremely remote locations. Sea Warden is the subject of my master’s thesis as well as an early-stage startup venture. Sea Warden’s mission is to monitor all of the world’s marine aquaculture operations to drive sustainability and transparency within the seafood industry.